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Australia

August - September 2023
Brisbane, Sydney & Cairns Read more
  • 27footprints
  • 3countries
  • 29days
  • 259photos
  • 39videos
  • 25.3kmiles
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  • TravelerAustralia
    21
    Day 23

    Last couple of days in Cairns

    September 20, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    On Wednesday, I was up extra early again to go reef fishing from Cairns Harbour. I was on the boat ready for it it to leave at 6:30, and then it was another hour and 45 minutes to the first spot of the day. It wasn't the best day's fishing I've ever had, but it certainly was the worst as I caught 4 in total. Some of the others on the boat caught nothing at all, whereas some caught some absolute beauties that were prepared on board for their dinners later!
    On the morning that I was due to leave Cairns, I wandered along the Rainforest Boardwalk, which was actually more rainforest than the actual rainforest I'd been to a few days earlier! The palms and other tropical trees here were massive with wildlife everywhere. At around 11ish, it was so hot and humid that I'd kind of had enough and just wanted to get somewhere with air-con!
    The last couple of photos are of the GBR from a distance, and then Brisbane.    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    3
    Day 22

    The Outback

    September 19, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Today, I found out why the rainforest is called that. As the sea is already warm around the coast here and the air temperature sround the mountains is also warm, it's much quicker and easier for evaporation of the sea to take place. This creates a tropical, wet environment for palms and other tropical plants to flourish near the coast and over the mountains. Although it's still a large area, this wet region doesn't entend that far inland. When driving inland and away from the coastal areas, it was really clear to see where the palms and rainforest stopped and the more dry and sparse region began. Our guide told us that this dry and dusty land with mainly eucalyptus trees was pretty much what the interior of Australia looks like. This is why the majority of the population of Australia lives mainly around the 'outside'. I took a video of the view from the bus, which shows what I mean - miles upon miles upon miles of the same scenery.Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    Day 22

    The Outback & Chilligoe Caves

    September 19, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    An early start again as I dropped off the hire car and walked to my pick-up point for the trip to the outback and caves in a remote town called Chilligoe.
    Our first stop was at a beautiful log cabin that looked out over farmland where mangos, limes, papayas and coffee are grown. We had coffee here and, oddly for breakfast, papaya jam and fresh cream scones (handy cos I got up too late for anything before I left 😅).
    Then a huge drive into the Outback which took almost 2 hours. We arrived at a tiny town in the true meaning of the middle of nowhere. Chilligoe came about in the late 1800s after copper was discovered in the area. Also, in Chillagoe are the caves we came to visit, which were formed by rainfall eroding the limestone rock formations that are a feature of this part of the Outback. After an hour or so we went to the town pub for lunch.
    Back in the bus again to a place with some interesting rock formation, including one called 'balancing rock' for obvious reasons! It was intensely hot here so we had a quick look around and back into the air-conditioned van.
    Our next stop was at a little park where we fed the local wallabies by hand. Some had babies in their pouches, which was very cool to see.
    After that, it was the very long drive home, so all in all, it was almost 12 hours of driving and sightseeing.
    Although it was a long drive into the Outback, the map location showed we barely entered it. Australia is MASSIVE!    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    Day 21

    Car Hire Day!

    September 18, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Before I left the UK, I reserved a small car for me to use today as I didn't have anything planned. I thought twice about going to pick up the car as it was raining and it was forecast to for most of the day. Anyway, I decided to go for it and I'm glad that I did as the weather brightened up.
    I drove North from Cairns, and my first stop was at the spectacular Ellis Beach. This is a picture perfect tropical beach with golden sand and palms fringing the edges. I didn't dip my toes in as the risk of being eaten by a saltwater croc put me off a bit 🐊.
    Back in the car again and I drove up further and stopped in at Hartleys Crocodile Adventures. Lots of crocs here (obs) and it was cool to see them attack chickens on a stick for the crowds entertainment. Normally, these crocs just lie there motionless, so they may as well be rubber ones for all I know. There was some native birdlife here, too, like the cassawary and the kookaburra in my pics.
    I jumped back in the car and made my way up to Port Douglas, which is a beautiful town with a superyacht marina and with coconut palms everywhere you look 🌴🌴🌴. I made my way to the marina and boarded an original, authentic Chinese junk boat for a sunset cruise. Unfortunately, the sunset was a non event as the clouds and mist covered the mountains where it was due to set - it was still cool though and the ships mate made us some Chinese dimsums which were yum.
    Back on dry land, I got back into the car and drove the 1 hour journey back on the Captain Cook Highway to where I'm staying.    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    1
    Day 20

    Great Barrier Reef snorkel trip

    September 17, 2023 ⋅ 🌬 25 °C

    Today began with a 90 minute boat ride out to one of the 3000 individual reefs that make up the GBR. The ride out was choppy to say the least and nearly everyone on board were throwing up. Not me though, I just tucked into the free Danish pastries and tried to ignore the sound of people heaving and yacking up 🤢!
    The boat arrived at a platform that sat next to a reef so snorkellers could enter the water easily down a large set of steps. I got into a wetsuit and grabbed my flippers, mask and snorkel then made my way into the water. I'm not a strong swimmer and so when I looked down into the choppy sea I lost any confidence I had that I could do this. The depth here was at least 60ft - staright down into the dark blue. One of the friendly guides saw me holding onto the steps for dear life and gave me some encouragement and tips for relaxing. I thought to myself I hadn't come all this way to hold on to the edge and so I just relaxed and went with it. The swim to the actual reef was about 40ft over the deep water but then, at the reef, it was only about 4ft deep. The difficulty here was managing the swell and chop of the sea - initially, I was in a state of constant panic that sea water would flood my snorkel. This soon went and I found myself enjoying the experience of drifting over a pristine coral reef. Annoyingly, my phone wouldn't respond to my touch in the water after my first video (which happened to be the part of the reef with the least fish and coral 🤬). A bit further out was just awesome with so many fish that I didn't know where to look. I've kept marine fish over the years and I've got pretty good knowledge of GBR species, so it was magical for me to see these type of fish in their natural environment. I saw damsels, wrasse, tangs, rabbitfish, foxfaces, butterfly fish, sweetlips, angelfish and, incredibly, a pair of stunning Moorish Idols. I've added some pics of some of these types of fish for reference (gutted I couldn't get some of my own) . Once I got confident in the water I didn't want to get out but my legs were knackered constantly swimming against the waves pushing me backwards and forwards 😂. Of all the amazing things I've done on this trip, this was the most special and I'll never forget it.    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    1
    Day 19

    Daintree Rainforest & Cape Tribulation

    September 16, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    I joined a group today for coach journey to the North of Cairns to the oldest rainforest in the world - The Daintree. Our first stop was at Mossman Gorge, where we were involed in a smoke ceremony from an indigenous bloke who lit a fire using a specific tree bark to bless our spirits with the help of his ancestors He also showed us how different clays and plants are used to decorate the skin to denote different Aboriginal tribes.. Some of the more brave of our group then went for a swim in the water rushing through the gorge . Unfortunately, I had forgotten my budgie smugglers, so I had to sit that out 🙄. Next, we went up further north to the Daintree river, where we got on a boat to spot some wildlife. We were lucky enough to see 3 saltwater crocodiles on the river bank - 2 adults and a little 'un. Back on the coach again and even further north to Cape Tribulation, so named after Captain Cook ran aground here and was the beginning of a load of hassle for him, hence 'trials and tribulations'. This is also the spot where two World Heritage sites meet - the Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.
    It's been a bloody long day (11 hours in all), but I've seen things and sights I would never have if I had just hired a car and attempted it on my own.    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    Day 18

    The Australian Tank and Armour Museum

    September 15, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    After my flight, I went up to the Australian Tank and Armour Museum. I did take a load of pictures of tanks but only a couple of people I know would be remotely interested in seeing them so I'm not uploading them on here 🤣. While I was there, I did something that I've wanted to do for a long time and that is to shoot live rounds from a WW2 British 303 rifle. To 'get my eye in', I fired 20 rounds from a .22 rifle and then I shot another 10 rounds from the 303 into a target a considerable distance down the range. I did pretty good - all of the. 22's in the '10' and all of the 303's in a nice tight group just left of the centre. You can't fire live rounds in the UK, so this was an awesome and rare opportunity to get to experience 🎯.Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    Day 18

    Great Barrier Reef flight

    September 15, 2023 ⋅ 🌬 24 °C

    Today, I flew in a sightseeing plane over some of the Great Barrier Reef. On arrival, there were 6 passengers waiting and I was lucky enough to snag the seat up front next to the pilot - very cool! We took off from Cairns airport and flew around 20 minutes to a few of the larger reefs, including Fitzroy Island which is a place for day trips from the harbour here. Again, my photos dont do the beautiful turquoise Coral Sea justice. To see the reef from above was really spectacular 😲.Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    1111
    Day 17

    Cairns Harbour & Aquarium

    September 14, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 26 °C

    I arrived in Cairns at about lunchtime today to stunning blue skies and a stiff warm wind. Made my way to my lovely little Airbnb which is a 1940's style 'Queenslander'. I'm on the upper level, which has the look and feel of an old railway signal box. It even comes with a friendly cat and Jack Russell!
    I'm getting the hang of buses now and so I got one down into the city and headed straight for the aquarium. It's probably the best one I've ever been too with huge aquariums showing off the fish of the Great Barrier Reef. Most of the photos I took were blurred and the ones that did come out ok don't reflect how beautiful the displays are. The centrepiece was a 40 odd foot tall marine reef aquarium, which I sat in front of for quite some time in awe of the scale of it.
    After that, I had a wander around the harbour and grabbed yet another iced coffee (Evie got me into these 😅). It's a pretty cool place this 😀.    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    2
    Day 16

    Australia (Steve Irwin) Zoo

    September 13, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    I'm back im Brisbane for a day so I got the bus up to Australia Zoo which was founded by the Irwin family. It's almost a shrine to Steve Irwin as his face is EVERYWHERE! The whole zoo was immaculately kept with beautiful enclosures and trees everywhere, The show was ok, it was aimed more towards the youngsters in the stadium and not an old git like me 😅. Even so it was an experience to visit the most well known zoo in all of Australia.Read more

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